We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chelsea Beamer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chelsea below.

Chelsea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Woah boy. Well, I’ve always been a sort of “all in” kind of person. So last year, my boyfriend and I did something that most people think is a little crazy… Maybe even a few crazy things.

I guess, let me give you a little backstory first. I picked up my camera in November of 2020.  

At the time, I was working as a corporate recruiter and running a children’s clothing company at the same time. You know, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial soul, and it had been a dream for a long time to be a full-time business owner — whether it was kid’s clothing or not. 

In January of 2020, I found this wedding photography course and I remember looking at my boyfriend and going, “Should I do it?” Well… I bought the course and ended up completely walking away from my children’s clothing company to go all-in with photography. 

It was a hard decision but something about photography just immediately clicked and felt like the direction I was meant to go! And that course helped me realize that. I mean, I was itching to get out of my corporate job and I thought no way was I going to stay for 5 more years while I built this business. 

By April, with the tools and inspiration I had gained from that online course, I put in my notice at my full-time gig. Come June – eight really short months after picking up a camera – I officially was a full-time photographer.

I was still shooting mostly free gigs when I quit my job.

And that’s not even the craziest thing… 

Once I quit my job, my boyfriend and I decided to sell everything we owned, packed up our car, and hit the road to travel the US and live in Airbnb’s. 

Yeah. I know: quitting my day job with zero clients AND traveling full-time. Like I said… a little crazy. 

Now, keep in mind, it was still mid pandemic – 

I kept asking myself, “Who quits their full-time, stable job in the middle of a pandemic?” Me I guess! So we decided to stay in the US and travel to different states for about a month at a time. This was partly a business decision in order to give people more of a reason to book with me. I’d only be in places for a short amount of time so it adds a little scarcity. But also, we were just excited to see as many places as we could!

Going into it, I knew the first couple of months would be a learning curve. And they definitely were. After the first few months, though, I was able to not only build relationships everywhere we went (quickly too), but I started to strengthen my marketing skills and I got pretty confident in booking clients in all the states we visited. 

I had the opportunity to work in a variety of photo studios across the country and challenge myself to create in a new space each time, which was cool. All while finding hair and makeup artists to collaborate with in each state we visited…

It was a whirlwind, man!

Now, you’re probably wondering where all we went! We visited: Salt Lake City, Reno, Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver BC, Dallas, Montana, South Dakota, and Kansas City.

Was this the scariest risk I’ve ever taken? Absolutely. But was it worth it? 1,000,000% yes! 

I am so proud of the business I have built in a short amount of time, and what a dream come true to merge my two passions into one – photography and travel!

Chelsea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Right now, I am a traveling boudoir photographer who is based in Denver.

I’ve been in Colorado my whole life, and have been surrounded by creative souls that have inspired my journey into photography. Both my brother and boyfriend are photographers, and I have learned so much from both of them! There is one camping trip in particular that stands out to me as “The moment I learned to use a camera on manual mode.”

My boyfriend, Dayton, took the time to show me what the settings mean, how they affect a picture, and how to use them all together. We took photos of the stars up in Steamboat, and from there I was hooked on my camera, and learning as much as I could about photography, camera settings, composition, lighting — all the things. My brother gave me my first camera – one of his favorites from his camera stash — a Fuji X-T20, and I began practicing every day!

I had done a boudoir photoshoot myself on the client side several years ago and, for me, it was literally a life-changing experience!
I felt that it set me in a whole new direction of self-love, and truly seeing myself. It was a combination of that feeling that I had after my shoot, along with a boudoir educator on YouTube I binge-watched — Michael Sasser mostly — that inspired me to become a boudoir photographer.

We as women are very hard on ourselves and our bodies. I’m so grateful to be on this side of the camera now, showing women a different side of themselves. A side that has always been there, but one we just have a hard time seeing day-to-day.

Boudoir to me is more than just a photo – it’s an experience that has long-lasting effects, and keeps women feeling beautiful for years. I’m here to celebrate women as they are today, and to show them themselves in a new light!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Honestly, when I was still working my full-time job, I felt like time was ticking.

I knew in the coming years I wanted to start settling down and having kids. Though certainly not impossible, I knew that quitting my full-time job after having children would be much more of a risk. I wanted to have an established business by the time I start a family. And if that’s in a few years, and if it’ll take a few years to ramp up a business, well – I better get on it!

Being a full-time business owner has always been the ultimate dream for me. The freedom it gives you with your time and the control you have over making your own income (even if it’s scary at times) is everything I’ve always wanted. I am building this business so that I can raise a family in the future and have time to spend with them.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The best way that I have found to grow my clientele is by simply meeting people! The more conversations you have, the more relationships you build, and that is truly what it’s all about.

I think it’s important as a business owner to be proud of the work you do, and shout it out from the rooftops! One of the first questions we often ask one another is “What do you do for a living?” The more people you meet out and about, the more they know your specialty, and the more you can connect with them about their lives, the better you’ll do.

I’m a people person through and through, so this is fun for me. But it you have to do it in this business to succeed.
And I’m always looking out for opportunities to take photos of events, or even just attending events where I can meet people. They don’t necessarily have to be related to boudoir at all. Because it not only feeds my soul, but it always causes this amazing ripple effect on my business and in growing my clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chelseabeamerphotography.com
• Instagram: @chelseabeamerphotography
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/chelseabeamerphotography
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMiv5OLoy6rTPxnTqR5V8cQ